Problems Tourists Might Encounter

　　Transportation. Transportation is definitely the most important consideration of a tour of northern Tibet. The Heihe Highway traverses the southern part of northern Tibet from east to west. There are no regular buses, and although it is possible to get lifts in trucks along the highway, it is better to have one's own motor vehicle.

　　Still, there are difficulties. First, it is difficult to find gas stations, so it is better to use diesel-powered vehicles. The roads in northern Tibet are mostly crude ones, and the cost of oil is high. Second, it is difficult to follow the roads, so you are advised to hire a local guide. Even so, you should be prepared for getting lot both psychologically and physically. If you drive your own motor vehicle, a Toyota "land cruiser" is better than other types of jeeps.

　　Season. It is not advisable to tour northern Tibet in winter, since it is too cold and it often snows heavily, sometimes with snowstorms. In the summer it rains heavily, and the roads become quagmires. So spring and autumn are the best seasons to tour northern Tibet. Usually, it begins to snow in mid-September, so tourists should pay attention to the changes in the weather.

　　Communications. In northern Tibet, people can make phone calls from county towns quite conveniently. But from other places it is very difficult to make contact with the outside world, except by using a satellite telephone, which is also useful for getting meteorological data, which is badly needed on tours of northern Tibet.

　　To tour with a caravan or a large tour group, people should have networked mobile radios or walkie-talkies, and the distance between motor vehicles should not be too far. In Tibet, sometimes, two motor vehicles that start at the same time in the morning can be 200 kilometers apart in the evening.